Submarine vessel



F', LASKI A April 2o ,-1926,

SUBMAR'INE VESSEL 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 190,4

inventa Patented pr. Z, i926.

UNIT@ SUBMARINE VESSEL.

Application filed October' 30, 19211` Serial No. 746,818.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK LAsKi, a citi` zen of the United States, and resident of Lomita, county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in a Submarine Vessel, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to submarine vessels and moi'e particularly to submarine toy vessels.

An object of my invention is to provide'a vessel with means for causing automatic ascent at suitable periods and for causing automatic descent. A. further object isto provide means for varying the length of period ofsubmergence. I

An object is to provide an automaticallyacting, rising and falling boat devoid'of elevating andlowering mechanism of propelling function.

An object is'to provide a pneumatically effective lifting means; to providean auX- iliary air chamber which is exterior to the hul or shell of the vessel. In this connection an object is to provide a lifting chamber which is, in a descending action of the vessel, substantially of negative function and is filled with water and of no lifting value. A n object is to provide for the automatic discharge of air from the vessel into the lifting chamber; to provide for the auto matic unloading of the air from the air filled lifting chamber after the vessel has ascended to the surface.

An object is to provide an automatically acting air receiver exterior to the vessel and having a dual function means operative, when submerged', to maintain the receiver in a receptive condition and, when afloat, operative to hold the receiver in air discharg ing position.

An object is to provide a lifting receiver of tilting action and having means to tilt the receiver for discharging when afloat, and to maintain it in receiving position while the vessel is submerged.

An object is to provide a vessel of nearly equipose character in water, but preferably minus in degree and to provide a buoy-controlled, lifting means lfor receiving air released from the vessel whereby to 'overcome its sinking tendency and to cause it to rise.`

Numerous other objects and advantages will be made manifest in the following speciiication of an embodiment of apparatus of the invention; it being understood that further embodiments, modifications and adaptations may be resorted to within the spirit of the invention.

Fig. l is a side elevation ofv the vessel afloat; the lifting receiver being in longitudinal section and overbalanced to unloading position. i

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the vessel, submerged; the lifting receiver being underbalanced and collecting air.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section through vessel and receiver.

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the vessel.

The vessel preferably has a torpedo, or submarine, shaped body, 2 with side fins 3 so inclined as to cause the vessel to glide forward when sinking and, therefore, to cause rotation ofa propellerl which is loosely ro-k tative onthetail piece 5.

- Fixed skags 6 are provided on the tapered stern section 7 and thedeck has a chariot bridge 8 across the nose and along the sides. From side to side of the bridge extends a rocleshaft l() and on thisis mounted an inverted pan l1 overbalanced at one side of the rock-shaft 10 so that the top of the pan so inclines as to receive and holdl air between itsside flanges and the frontend flange l2. 'llieopposite end of the pan has no flange so that air can escape freely when the pan is tipped up yat its open end.

An important feature of the invention consists of afdevice for uptilting the mouth of the pan when the vessel is afloat and which device also downtilts the open end when the' vessel submerges and descends. This controlling device isof buoyant chai acter and is so related to the pan, which forms an auxiliary air receiver, that its weight acts on the receiver, when the boat is afloat, to tilt up the open end as in Fig. l; The buoyancy of the device reverses its function and acts contra-wise to tip down the openV endA or mouth of the receiver 111, and

hold it in a position to collect air escaping from a regulated escape such as a common automobile tube valve 13 which is arranged in an upper part of the boat structure, the body of which I utilize as a compressed air chamber. This chamber is provided with a charging valve 14 here disposed in the tail stem 5, which may form the shell of valve. Preferably a common tire valve is employed and may be covered by the usual cap 15. This cap may be removed and applied to set the escape valve core when it is desired to vary the rate of flow of air past this valve to the auxiliary, and lifting air receiver 11, which is disposed immediately above it. When adjustment is to be made the rock-shaft 10 is dismounted with the receiv' er 11 to'provide access to the valve core in the usual manner. To prevent childish tampering with the valve stem a guard yoke 16 overhangs the stem to keep the lingers olf.

vThe boat hull may be charged with air up to 80 pounds with reasonable safety and I provide a test valve 17 to which a common tire pressure gage may be applied to try pressure while at the same time a filling hose tached to the bottom of the hull, as bystay-screws and nuts 21-22. This keel also provides for weightingy of the hull to nicely determine boat-buoyancy; the boat being designed, in operative condition, to normally slowly descend by gravitation, it being slightly less than equipoised in surface water.

The operation is, then, as follows:

The air-charged boat hull is simply placed in any bodylof water and released to sink. At this time vthe air receiver 11 is overhalanced by the buoy device, which here comprises a closed, metal tube or Wooden element 23 attached (permanently or removably) to the closed end of thevreceiver, or in other manner, s0 as to,'by weightof the device, lift up theL open end or mouth of the receiver 11 to release any trapped air.

The device 23 ishere shown as a tubular periscope.

As the boat sinks, its receiver 11 is tilted to form an air retaining chamber with its open mouth just above the escape valve 13. Escaping air enters and is retained in the catchment chamber, which is rendered buoyant by displacement of water. The result is that the nearly equipoised vessel becomes over-buoyed and is lifted by the air collected in the receiver. The vessel rises to surface and the periscope, buoyant under water, reverses its function on the receiver 11 and,by its weight, tilts the receiver to discharge the collected air. The receiver therefore loses its lifting ability, becomes dead weight, and the boat again sinks.

When the boat is afloat the receiver is awash and is not reset in air holding position until the buoy-device 23 is in maximum buoyancy; see Fig. 2.

The walls of the bridge and the hatch are' perforated at 25 kto avoidany undesired air pockets about the boat.

It will be seen that there is no motor mechanism for elevating or lowering the boat; no expensive or complicated parts, and but one element is movable in actual functioning of the boat.

The propeller is retained in place, rotatively, by a fixed collar 4a.

So long as the boat is submerged with the periscope under water this pulls up on one end of the auxiliary receiver 11 and holds the other end down to keep in the collected air. Position of the receiver is determined by any suitable stopping means: as here shown the deck limits the tilting of the receiver in both of its positions.

What is claimed is: n

1. An automatic submarine toy including a body having an air-tight chamber, a variable valvefor discharging. air from the chamber, an inverted airV pan ivotally mounted on the body in an over alanced position and arranged to collect the released air, and an upright buoyant member attached to the lighter end ofy the tilting pan to reverse its position when afloat to release entrapped air and operative to firmly hold the pan in entrapping position while the said member is submerged.

2. An lautomatic submarine toy including a body having an air-tight chamber, a variable valve for discharging air from the chamber, an inverted air pan arranged and pivoted on the body to collect released air, a buoyant member attached to and controlling the actions of the pan, and a chariot bridge within which the said pan is disposed and protected.

3. An approximately equi-poised submarine device tending to sink and including a compressed air chamber having an air vent, a movably mounted air receiver for collecting air from they vent When the receiver is submerged so as to render the receiver buoyant and of lifting effect, and a gravity sensitive float attached to the receiver to effect a quick, reliable action in release of trapped air when the receiver gets awash at the surface. Y

4. A submarine vessel' having a co1n pressed air chamber provided with an air vent, and an air receiver tiltably mounted upon the chamber; said receiver having a float device tending and `operative to hold 5 the receiver in air retaining position until the receiver reaches the surface and exposes the device.

5. A submarine vessel having a compressed-air chamber, an air escape valve therefor, an air catching receiver for the escaping air to be made buoyant thereby by displacement of Water therefrom, and `a buoyant periscope attached to the receiver and operative on it to hold or discharge co1- lected air according to depth of submergence.

FRANK LASKI. 

